The Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival (BHFF) has announced the film line-up for its twelfth annual edition. Four feature films, four short and six documentaries comprise the three-day event taking place in New York City from May 21 to 23.
The
feature film selection covers a broad range of subjects and includes two feature comedy dramas,
Love Island by
Jasmila Zbanic (Germany/Croatia/Switzerland/Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2013), and
A Quintet by
Ariel Shaban (USA/Germany/Turkey/Italy/Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2014), the crime drama
Racket by
Admir Buljugić (Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2014) and an omnibus feature tribute to city of Sarajevo,
Bridges of Sarajevo (France/Bosnia-Herzegovina/Switzerland/Italy/Portugal/Bulgaria/Germany, 2014), featuring renowned European filmmakers.
Bridges of Sarajevo (2014)
The
documentary film selection will cover topics inspired by the hundreth anniversary of World War I in
The Sarajevo Assassination by
Nedim Lončarević (France/Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2014), homecomings in
Bad Blood by Rialda Zukić (Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2014) and
Pretty Village by
Dave Evans ( Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2014), and an analytical dissection of the final years’ work of The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on the 20th anniversary of the Dayton Accords in
Seeking Truth in the Balkans by June Vutrano and Erin Lovall (2014).
Dear Lastan! by
Irena Skoric (Croatia, 2014) is a documentary filled with nostalgias for the days of growing up in former Yugoslavia; it is juxtaposed by the vivid imagery of childhood in wartime, presented in the award-winning short fiction film
The Chicken by
Una Gunjak (Germany/Croatia, 2014, 15’).
On the Verge by Fanny Hagmeier is an essayistic portrait of Sarajevo and shows the city as it undergoes several changes in early 2014. Other short fiction films also included this year will address issues of family values and problems in
Toy Car by Muamer Čelik and
Mercy by Benjamin Dizdarević, while
Redemption by Mirna Dizdarević shows the power of forgiveness.
The festival received more than 40 film submissions this year from all over the world. The films selected into the BHFF’s final program represent a wide range of talents and themes from the following countries: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Lebanon, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Films selected to screen at the 12th Annual BHFF are eligible to win a number of honors including the Golden Apple audience and jury awards: BHFF 2015 Jury Award for Best Documentary Film; BHFF 2015 Jury Award for Best Short Film and BHFF 2015 Jury Award for Best Feature Film.
In 2015, the BHFF Jury consists of award-winning filmmaker and media executive Pamela Hogan and award-winning journalist Almin Karamehmedović, and scholar of cultural and cinema studies Dijana Jelača.
As always, the audience will select one film in any of the categories to receive the BHFF 2015 Audience Award for the Best Picture with all those attending the screening being able to vote for the favorite film of the twelfth edition.